The Craft House (Part 1) Gets Me Every Time

Growing up, I was sometimes jealous of friends who had lived in one home their whole lives. They’ve always had the same room, the same neighborhood, the same childhood best friends that they’ve known since they were born. After moving form Pennsylvania to Alabama and living in a few houses along the way, I longed what for what they had. But given the chance to move away for college, I jumped at it, and off to Oklahoma I went.

Fast forward 4 years and I again shipped my things halfway across the country to move to Boston. Once here I fell in love with the city, and then a man, and here we are today—no longer envious of those friends who can still call their childhood house their home. It took a while for me to get here, but I wouldn’t have it, or all that moving around any other way.

If not for all that jumping around, I would have missed out on so many of my favorite memories. The newest of which, is a weekend spent at The Craft House, in Newton, Kansas, with a handful of my closest college friends.

So while I can’t say that I lived in one house growing up, I can say I spent one fabulous weekend in this house talking about growing up with some amazing women. And I can now realize how lucky I truly was to live in so many places and meet so many great people who I can still connect with today.

When I started looking at all my photos from the weekend I realized this could be one terribly long post. Or three more digestible, big-bite-sized posts. So, this is the first of three of the latter. Take a tour around The Craft House, then come back for more tomorrow. And maybe even the day after. (For more info on The Craft House, renting it, or signing up to attend a hosted weekend there, check out Meg’s blog.)

It’s worth noting that even though we planned a “craft weekend,” we spent as many hours in the kitchen as we did around the craft table. But look at it, why wouldn’t we?

The houses vivd colors and eclectic decor inspired us from the moment we walked into the door. I loved the maps and globes everywhere, especially consider all that moving and shaking I did in my earlier years.

I loved these cameras and am inspired to do a similar treatment in our home, though, perhaps a little less colorful, with a few older pieces we’ve collected over the years.

See that second camera from the left? Well, Newton, Kansas also has a handful of wonderful antique stores filled with excellent prices on second-hand vintage items. And, in one of those stores, I saw a very similar camera. I’m kicking myself for not picking it up. (Note, anyone in Newton, KS reading this that wants to send it my way, let me know.)

This is a crafty-gal’s dream. This room was equipped with two spacious tables for all your crafting needs plus a cutting table for all those fabric projects. Speaking of projects, there will be more on those soon, I promise.

Come back again to see what’s up the stairs (beds for 16 people!). And, a special hello to all those readers who came over from my dear friend Emily’s blog.